Noble Norse Norns

Holding the Heathen Hammer high

I've always liked Norse Mythology and wished we would have covered mythology in history class at some point during my school years. Sadly that NEVER happen, but fortunately I've been trying to compile everything I can into one page for others, from Basic knowledge, to the gods, Vikings and anything else.

I took one of those personality tests (link should be included somewhere on the page) to see what Norse God I'd be and it ended up being Odin. (Who is the god of MANY things and probably the reason he is called the all father.) Odin is the chief god of the Norse pantheon. Odin is the god of... War, death, Poetry, prophecy, magic, victory, & the Hunt.

Part of the Aesir Odin resides in Asgard at Valaskjalf palace for which he built for himself, and sits on his throne Hlidskjalf where he can spectate what happens in each of the nine worlds. He rides his 8 legged steed Sleipnir in to war wielding his spear called Gungnir

I previously had the Days of the week noted here, but it never looked right however I wonder why Loki doesn't have his own day (beside the fact he' s a pain in everyone's mead horns). I know he's only half god but Why no Loki day? Oh wait that's right his day is sort of a holiday, or at least the day before one. That would be Mischief Night which is October 30th.

I have so much information I can post & there's only so many links I can post from certain sites etc here so I may make a seperate page on one of my blogs for it instead, Or make a blog of its own likely with this same title.

(by Request) thanks to Steve Thompson Proud sponsors of www.DogTagsForKids.com supporting our military families.. Use of image upon permission; On my end show proof you made a donation of at least $1 and on my end you have it... but you need to ask Steve as well.

I do not claim credit for the intro image. A friend posted it on my facebook page & is from as long as the raven flies by raven_tales it will change once I find a picture more suitable to cover the topic. Credit for it is given in the polaroid later on in the page.

Norbe Norse Norns Logo text made with Cooltext

'quotes; are from Elder and or Poetic edda

Mads Mikkelsen

Mads Mikkelsen

On Screen

Northmen trailer & Vikingdom reviews

Northmen

was a decent movie starring Ryan Kwanten of True blood fame

Movie 'Vikingdom' insults the followers of old religion Open letter to the makers of Vikingdom" The letter notes How they get The stories & meaning of Thor backwards & twist many of the beliefs to their own agenda. (& how aweful was it? It came on Syfy channel April 26th)

as far as the beginning credits goes, it looks like a wannabe 300. Dominic Purcel stars (& that would be like the 4th or 5th Aussie playing a Viking (of some sort) Wait he just died, in the beginning.. Oh wait that's a little backstory ok. Basically theis had to be written by Christians and the Red hair on Thor is laughable ..yes he had red hair, but I doubt it was Hot Topic dye Red! They have the Vikings wearing helmets which was VERY rare if at all and definately was NOT a whole army. People probably are mixing Vikings & Saxons. Frey reminds me of David Bowie with the outfit they have on him. THe Portrayal of Thor as if he is more predator than the protector of the people. This was so insulting & So bad I couldn't keep waching it. Where is Sharknado to take it away?

Season 3 announce

Northemen: A viking saga starring Ryan Kwanten (of True Blood) will open October 9 in Germany & the german speaking region of Switzerland

Tell One your Thoughts

The Virtues

Life and Culture

No Pure warrior class. Every Man had to be a fighter even women were trained for defense.

Shield Maidens were women that chose to go to battle alongside the men instead of their responsibilities on the home front.

The Raven Banner was flown by Viking Chieftains & Scandinavian rulers in battle from 9th-11th centuries

Silver was targeted in raids more than the other valuables!

Powerful Kings most often gave half of ther body gaurds to their Queen and maintained (paid) them himself.

Both Men & women were independent & enterprising.

Volva Women had immense authority and were often paid for their prophetic services

-any man prepared to die for what he believed was important was held in high esteem by friends and foes alike.

It was much easier in Viking age Scandinavia to move up the social ladder than anywhere else in Europe

An Earl or King would have 'Household troops ' which were the most experienced warrirors placed on the front lines for battle

Norse women were one of the most liberated of the times. They had status, some being Priestesses, wise women, shield maidens (warriors) rune mistress, & healers. Women as equal to the men cold go before the Thing (assembly) and request for divorce or be granted justice just as men unlike man other cultures or religions of the times. Viking men and women were possibly as close to equals as we are today.

The women were buried in the best attire along with brooches of Gilt bronze

'Burials' were most commonly done during the Viking era by cremating the body with clothes and jewelry (also burring the ashes with grave goods) During the show Vikings, they have shown some being put in a ship with their things sometimes the broken hearted would sacrifice themselves to be with the deceased & the ship would be lit aflame, & cast off.

according to @Viking_facts While Christians were normally buried oriented east- west a pagan burial was usually North-south

Runestone memorials were brightly colored (when carved) and were used from the 4th - 12th centuries They started out simple & grew more complex over the years

Home

The wealthier side of the Norse (like Kings & such) would have their walls whitewashed, burning the lime themselves

breed of herd dogs that were used during the Viking age were : Norweigan Buhund, Icelandic Sheepdog, Vallhund, Lapp reindeer dog, & Lapphund

Lighting in typical Long house came only from the smoke holes in the roof, and doors leading outside. If that wasn't enough they had to use simple lamps or torches

Beer was made to be both weak which was consumed on a daily basis, and strong was used during festivities.

Strongly believed in their role of honor & freedom. Outspoken & fearles in battle, steadfast on friendship and have even taken to sworn bloodoaths. A man fostered in a family can claim the same rights & help as blood members.

All for 1, 1 for all~ The First Muketeers?

an insult to one family member was an insult to all. If a member was discraced, all members of the family were affected.

Disir they are basically spirits (ghosts) that can be antagonistic or not toward the living and may act as protectors of a clan. Some think they may be the same as their version of wights or nature spirits.

Calendar & Celebrations

(I'm, including links here until I can work out a way to include the Months Days & celebrations in a grid)

There are 8 major celebrations or 'blots' (pronounciated as bloat) here is page that I found very informative Sacred Calendar of Asatru

The Viking Laws

Viking Law

Law would pass judgement on punishment for 'crime' either by fire or making the guilty party an outlaw. An outlaw had no protection or help whatsoever.

*Strict code of repayment or 'wereguild' for injury or death of any human or naimal

*Gossip was considered worse crime since they considered their good name of #1 importance:

offense taken to shuns of honor led to m any blood feud that lasted generations.

a wife that was powerful hung her keys from her gown, and if removed by her husband was imediate grounds (if she so wished) to instantly divorce him & keep any shared property

They had a method of execution which is referenced in the (Norse) Sagas called 'Blood Eagle' which one would think would be a Kenning from the sound of it. This was performed by cutting the victim's ribs by the spine and pulling out the lungs through the wounds until they bled to death. The lungs would be placed on their shoulders which would look like wings folded back. . They believed the sentenced had to stay silent during the execution in order to remain worthy of entering Valhalla

Every free man technically had an equal say in decisions, trials and other disputes, sadly tho' like today those with more money used their influence to 'sway' these descisions.

Sheilds- Most of the time shields were made of wood as most vikings were too poor to afford metal armor. The sheild was a key part of their protection, and each shield was uniquely painted with a variety of colors, patterns and motifs. The shield were usually round about 3 feet in diameter and strengthened by an iron band around the rim. I've also read they sometimes were covered in leather. Toward the end of the Viking age circular shields gave way to Kite shaped ones which protected the legs

Axe The ax was the most common of weapons for the vikings as swords were costly and therefore mostly used by wealthier nobility. The mammen axe was specifically created for melee battle, throwing and breaking through shields.

Spears were the cheapest and most comon weapon axes were popular as well as they were used for farming

Armor was mostly a thick leather or chain mail that was light but strong.

Travel & Navigation

Vikings sailed in Long ships, and using a sun board (compass) or when there was no sun, a sunstone to navigate.

The Largest Viking warship discovered was measured at 119 feet long with 2,175 square foot sail had 70 oars and could carry a crew of 100 men! These had average speeds of 5-10 knots (1knot = 1.15078 Miles / hour or 1.853 kilmeters/h)

11 trees were required to build the standard 70 foot Viking Longship

Pinewood was used to make skis up to 6 foot 6 inches were used for land travel

The Dragon Figureheads on the ships were a way to scare sea monsters away and were removed before land wa sited, so those on land would not be frightened away.

Oak was the most common wood used to build ships

Most ships that were used during the viking age werewere used for daily life, not trading & battle

It would have taken most of an estimated 1-2 years to completely weave a sail, and would sometimes be dyed to a blood red to add to the intimidation

The Oseberg ship was discovered in Oseberg Norway in 1904 or 1905 its a royal 9th century yacht that sailed along the coast & inner waters of Norway

The Sunstone allowed Viking sailors to travel in the open sea even when the sun was not shining. By holding it up during a cloudy day the sunstone concentrates sunlight. Without these and Sunboards the vikings would sail near the coast, or be lost at sea.

Small ships (up to 70 feet long) were called KARVES and were used for Human, Animal & in trasportaion of goods.

the 13th century was the last time Viking ships were used

Sunboard kept direction of the way the ship was traveling ad staying on course by tracking the shadow cast by the noon sun on the board.

Raven a magical & powerful creature in the Viking world. A powerful symbol of war and as previously expressed in the section on the Norse God Odin, the Eyes & ears of Odin Vikings used them to aid in navigations on long voyages. When they are released; if they do not return it means there is land near.

Not only did they use these things but they also used other birds, whales and celestrial bodies during sea navigation

On the Stem & stern of the ship they would include an onrnately decorated Dragon head on the prow. This was supposed to scare away any sea monsters, and would typically be taken off when they would come close to land so as to not scare the inhabitants.

ships had a side rudder (instead of an anchor) so they could be sailed right on to shore

Arm Ring- is one of the most sacred objects in the life of a viking. It is bestowed upon a boy when he comes of age. The Arm ring binds the Viking to the local cheiftain. The vikings swear oaths upon their armrings and kept their oaths at all costs.

Amber Amulets were made for luck

Runes- their writing as well as used for magical inscriptions immensley powerful for he who would inscribe them into wod, stone & metal. Runes were used to 'bless' weapons, sometimes writing the weapon's name with them. This coud have been entertainment & part of religion as well. For Divination purposes as well as trying to figure out the riddle of the runes Click to skip to Runes

Silver in the Norse economy played a Monetary & social role being used for trade and creating alliances

A Paltry Man

and poor of mind Is he

who mocks at all things

'Keep Calm' poster parody

'Keep Calm' poster parody

Easy 1 gallon mead

Amon Amarth MEAD - Swedish Viking band brews some MEAD

Heres the ingredients they use.....

Gallon water bottle (1/4 to 1/2 full (you will need the rest later)

Orange (Elderberry is what one of the guys prefers though, or some other fruit or berries for flavor)

Ragnorock- 'Armageddon' When Heaven & Earth would be destroyed. Thor would fight to the end with jormungandr"the Midgard sea serpent that coils around the earth and all the god would fight their enemies where at the end. Thor & his fellow Gods' children will carry on their legac

Landvaettir- Land wights are Norse spirits of the land which protect the flourishing of specific places where they live. Can be as small as a pebble or as large as a section of country

Dreams were thought to be the way the Gods communicated with humans

Conversion to Christianity (which was forced. If you didn't convert, you were killed) nearly wiped out the teutenic myth...EPICS (Scandinavia & Iceland managed to preserve the sagas & epics (at least some) However the Norse Pagans though may have given in, didn't fully give feilty to the new religion keeping their own meshing one of the NOrse Symbols, Thor's hammer with the Christian cross. (I'll have to look up what their punishent for traitors were)

Celtic & Norse magic are the only two true Western European magical traditions

The Northmen were among the last european societies to fall to christianity

Warrirors - Statues & fiction novels

Viking Heat I came across in a thrift store and was a definate treasure to me. I don't think I could do a better summation compared to my original review so please checkout the link to go to 2013 Year of the Book series.

The 9 Worlds - via a comic but someone found a clearer picture on Marvel

Yggdrasil and more

The 3 Norns guard the well of Urd. This well was so holy none would drink of it. The Norns are those who allot the sons of men their fate

Another Well beneath one of the roots was the Well of Knowledge guarded by Memir the Wise

Asgard Home of the Gods ("Heaven") The Golden home of the gods & Valhalla to the heros.

Aesir mostly associated with Power and war, Odin Frigg Thor are a few of the gods of this group.

In the Edda Aesir was used with the Gods and Asynjur for the goddesses.

Astaru means faith in the Aesir

Vasir the group of gods associated with wisdom, cultivation & fertility as well the ability to see the future and dwell in Vanaheimr "Home of the Vasir) They became a subgroup of the Aesir after the war of the two groups. Freyr & Freya are just two of the Vanir.

Midgard- Where mortal man dwellbattlefield for men

Helheim- Kingdom of the Goddess of Hel or Hela the sole ruler of the kingdom of death & daughter of Loki Religions after the pagans would see this is the Christian hell

Niflheim-the cold realm of death

Muspelheim-the land of fire

I've heard of the 9 levels of hell. Heleim's are as follows (as far as my research has taken me)

*Those who die of Old Age & Illness

*Oath Breakers & Secret Killers are condemned

*Criminals

Jotunheim the land of the most active, persistent enemies of the Aesir (Group of Gods) known as the frost giants (as well as the) mountain giants make their dwellings. The enemies of All that is Good.

Directions (Odinn & his brothers when creating the world posted four Dwarves permanetly in the four directions to hold up the sky. These dwarves went by the names of:

Most lore has it if they are caught by the sun they will turn to stone.

4 Facts

* The Best preserved road fromthe Viking age is Haervejen (Army Road) in Jutland, Denmark

*Birka (Near Stockholm) was a major trading center in the Viking age (coming from as far off as the Middle east)

*Horned Viking helmets came from an 1876 Opera for "der Ring des Nibelungen" by Richard Wagner

*Ruling England, Norway Denmark & Sweden from 1016-1035 Cnut the Great was considered one of the greatest Viking kings.

Various 'Viking' Stamps

Various 'Viking' Stamps

Faroe Islands VÃluspa stamps

Faroe Islands VÃluspa stamps

The sky belongs to Asagods... As long as the raven flies

The sky belongs to Asagods... As long as the raven flies

History

@HistoryVikings noted The Start of the Vikings age with the raid of Lindisfarne, also coincided with CharlemagneSaxon Wars of Christianity against paganism.

Around 860 AD Iceland was discovered by Floki Vilgerdarson (or Raven Floki) & the first Scandinavian to sail (intentionally) to, & gave Iceland its name; but it took another 10 years to be settled.

The first Permanent settlement of the Norse in Iceland was as Farmland settled by Ingolfur Arnarson in modern Reykjavik around 870 AD

Dorset 787 Vikings were mistaken as merchants by a royal official and killed him when he took them to pay a tax, and thus the first Viking raid as known recorded.

Snorri Sturluson (1179-1241) was an Icelandic Poet & politician and Key member of the althing. He wrote the prose Edda and Several Sagas.

Danegeld first paid in 991 was a tax paid to the Vikings to stop them from raiding. Thefirst payment I have heard about was ten thousand Roman pounds of Silver this would have equaled 7275 pounds, or 519 stones, 3 (& change) tons 3299 Kilograms

Exiled to Kiev (Ukraine) in 1030 Hardrada Harald became leader of the Varangian Guard and came back to Norway in 1045 and became a king and founded Oslo (Norway) in 49

The Earliest known Old Norse, Runic inscriptions in Scandinavia date from the 2nd century AD

The PResence of the Norse in Ireland which was first raided in AD 795 was settled in 840-841 was so strong they sometimes befriended and married one another

Born in Vinland between 1004 and 1013 Snorri Thorfinnsson is considered to be the first person of European decent born in the New World

THe Battle of Hakdal was one of the first battles unifying NOrway. Harold Fairhair of Vesthold became king at the young age of 10 and other regions attacked and lost.

Over 1,000 Old Norse words became standard English from the long term effect of Viking settlements in England.

Built in three phases from 737-968 Danevirke (work of the Danes) is a 19 Mile (or 30 km) defense wall in North Germany

The "Codex Runicus' is was written circa 1300 and 202 pages written in medieval Runes, as well as includes the oldest preserved Provincial Nordic Laws (Scanian Law)

Svein Forkbeard (c. 960-1014) revolted against Harald Bluetooth his father in mid 980s to become king of Denmark and Norway until death. He went on to also become the first Danish king of England in 1013.

Kvasir's Blood - Guest Comments

No HTML is allowed in comments, but URLs will be hyperlinked. Comments are not for promoting your articles or other sites.

sending

AUTHOR

Kim

5 years agofrom Yonkers, NY

@HealthfulMD: Oh thank you that's so good to hear! I do have more stuff coming. (as I have it on the comp sadly last night ALL my files on my X-drive well I think the darn thing died! (I REALLY hate tchnology)

Kirsti A. Dyer

5 years agofrom Northern California

Sending the link to my daughter who is working on a story about the Norse Gods.

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

This is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)

Google AdSense Host API

This service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

This is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

Facebook Login

You can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)

Maven

This supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)

We may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.

Conversion Tracking Pixels

We may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.

Statistics

Author Google Analytics

This is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)

Comscore

ComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)

Amazon Tracking Pixel

Some articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)